Slynd - Starting my journey today

hello fellow PMDD sufferers.

I just took my first Slynd pill (or Slinda for my Aussies) this evening. I've done countless surfing and sifting through what feels like thousands of posts here about people's experiences with it - the great, the bad, and the terrible - and decided to bite the bullet, and document how it goes for me.

I've tried so many methods and medications to overcome my monthly depths of despair–prozac, lexapro, yaz, nextstellis, wellbutrin(awful), adhd meds, supplements, shrooms, weed, prozac again... but PMDD seems to eat through all.

so i'm giving the mini pill a go. am both terrified of getting worse and wildly excited that it might work, but want to see it through a good three months to be assured i really tried. I'll be posting little updates here about the journey, side effects and all :) here's to us!

(23 dec '24) 3ish days in - nothing much to report as of yet. if there are any tiny intricacies i've noticed, it's slightly oilier skin and slightly more sensitive teeth? which is weird but could be nothing of note. in terms of mood, i'm feeling pretty good and calm. this is probably due to me starting the pill during my period, so i'm in follicular right now. and christmas break and whatnot. back soon!

(27 dec '24) a week-ish in - I've definitely noticed more anxiousness and twinges of low mood. that familiar swell of panic has cropped up a few times. knowing it's probably just the pill working itself out in my body helps me move past it. skin definitely a bit more spotty but that's fine - nothing too bad. I've been quite tired in the afternoons, but a big positive has been waking up fresh and energised in the morning - a complete rarity for me! hope that lasts.

(31 dec) just under two weeks in - am currently spotting. well, more like bleeding. I know this can happen - but it's also probably made worse because I forgot to take my pill a few nights ago and made up for it the next afternoon when I realised. I also have had a mood dip, where there were a good three days or so in a row of depression and anxiety, stronger in the evenings. the dead time between xmas and new year could be encouraging that too! my skin is pretty clear. I'm also thirstier and drinking more water. we press on.

(7th jan '25) about 3 weeks in - spotting has just about stopped. phew! according to my regular cycle I should be deep in my luteal phase right now. and i can feel it, like it's still going through the motions, the panic and the turmoil. i seem to start the day with focus and positivity, but it dissipates in the afternoon - turning into foggy-head-syndrome where i just need to sit down dopily unsure of what to do with myself. it's coupled with a nagging depression too, where I slip easily into despair. this is classic luteal phase for me, so i'm hoping that with every passing month, slynd reduces it more and more.

(13th jan '25) nearly a month in - just started the second packet! skipped the placebos of course :-) my mood has been oookay. I've slowly recovered from the few days of dark depression. they were really bad. I'm alriight now but expecting some more horrid days over the next few months as I keep adjusting. My notable side effects include being a little more thirsty (not bothered by this), a smidge of weight gain (I honestly welcome bodily changes if it means I can have a more stable mind), and random sore zits around my chin and mouth area (I never get acne, so it's a bit annoying but again - happy to withstand it). Maybe my libido has dipped a tiny bit? Sex is still enjoyable and normal though. that month creeeeped by so slowly, am looking forward to things getting even better this month. fingers and toes crossed.

22nd jan '25) just over a month taking - well I'm just over a week into my second packet and unfortunately things are getting quite awful. I had a day (the day where I usually would've started my period) where my mood TANKED. down to the depths of misery. I woke up in such a depressed state my head was dizzy, and all I could do was hysterically cry all day. I even had persistent thoughts of wanting to harm myself alongside the worthlessness and hopelessness I was experiencing. it was really terrifying. luckily my partner helped me through and I'm still low but alright now. I'm also piling on weight, it fucking sucks. my thighs and hips have expanded and are heavier and more wobbly, my arms are thicker, my tummy flabbier, my shoulders and neck are chunkier too. I put on one of my fitted t-shirts and felt gross, like it was strangling me and gripping my arm fat. my breasts have grown but in a bloated and tender way. AND my normally-clear face keeps breaking out in painful spots. I wake up with different blistery zits around my chin, cheeks and eyebrows each day. so it is definitely getting worse instead of better. I think I'll still stick it through to three months - just in case some miracle happens and the clouds part, like it has done for some. but yeah. sucks.

31st jan '25) nearly two months in - just finished a mid-pack bleed for about a week. feeling light headed due to low iron. mood is sour and grumpy, still feel like i have less joy and my humour has taken a hit. haven't been as depressed as before, not crying as much - am just terribly irritable instead. skin still awful, chin and mouth area constantly red with sore spots popping up daily. belly still puffy, with a chubby band of fat around it. thighs are HUGE lol. feel very self-conscious with all these bodily changes, like i'm hiding away from people. libido has wilted a tad. one more month to go i suppose. still crossing fingers, hoping for things to shift. i've been researching the norethindrone 35 mini pill, which my sister is on and has no complaints with. thinking of switching to that if slynd persists in being shit.